Punk legends Circle Jerks stopped by The Orange Peel in Asheville, North Carolina with support from 7 Seconds and Negative Approach.
Hardcore punk is a distinctive genre of music adored by fans both young and old. This statement held true when looking around the room at The Orange Peel in Asheville, North Carolina. After 40 years of performing, these bands continue to draw in new listeners which makes the crowd a great mix. New and seasoned fans of the iconic hardcore punk scene filled the room and made a fun night for all. The crowd was strong as the 1050-person capacity venue was nearly sold-out. It was not apparent that the show was on a weeknight in the Blue Ridge mountains in North Carolina from the size and energy of the crowd,
First up was Detroit natives, Negative Approach. They started in 1981, with frontman John Brannon remaining as an original member to the current lineup. Also, on stage for the evening was Harry Richardson on guitar, Ron Sakowski on bass, and John Lehl on drums. They opened the set with “Hypocrite” from their 1983 album Tied Down. After ten songs, the band took a brief pause so someone in the audience could find a lost contact. They took this much-needed break before resuming for another twelve songs, ending the night with a cover of “I Got It Right” from Michigan icon, Iggy Pop.
Up next were 7Seconds. 7Seconds formed in 1980 and were active until 2018 when they took a break before regrouping in 2022 for this tour. They kicked off the set with “Here’s Your Warning.” As the set continued, lead singer, Kevin Seconds made jokes about his vegetarianism and made a declaration that “no farting [was] allowed in here tonight,” which earned a lot of laughter during the fast-paced set. They ended the set with a cover of “99 Red Balloons” from Nena.
Lastly, Circle Jerks took the stage to close out the evening of pure hardcore fun. The evening started with audience members in the front half of the venue taking notice of the size of the posted setlist. There was a very respectable 32 songs on the list for the evening. The crowd was pumped up and ready to mosh and crowd surf as they waited for the hardcore punk royalty to come out on stage.
After being rescheduled twice, the crowd anxiously awaited the band to take the stage. Once the crowd’s anticipation was about to burst, lead singer Keith Morris took the stage along with Greg Hetson on guitar, Zander Schloss on bass, and Joey Castillo on drums. They opened with a heartfelt thank you to the crowd who made it out after the postponements. The band had intended to tour in 2020 to support the 40th anniversary of the album Group Sex. Keith now joked about the celebration of the 42nd anniversary tour.
They kicked off the set with “Letterbomb” and continued to scream, jump, and pump up the energy in the room while performing the set in blocks. Kevin made a comment about the need for performing in blocks so he and the band could stay hydrated and encouraged the crowd to stay hydrated in the hot room as well.
The crowd stayed energetic throughout the whole set, singing along with every song of the set. While many of the songs were short, the average song length for the Circle Jerks’ set was 96 seconds and the set was a full hour and fifteen minutes of pure adrenaline.
There are still plenty of dates left on the tour. Make sure to check them out if you get the opportunity!
CIRCLE JERKS
Website Facebook Twitter
7 SECONDS
Website Facebook Twitter
